On Sunday (Feb. 16), for the 22nd time in his racing career, Jimmie Johnson took the green flag for the Daytona 500. It marked his 13th start in the NASCAR Cup Series as an owner/driver, and the race ended in, by far, Johnson’s best finish in his new role. He and the No. 84 team battled through a long, rainy afternoon turned evening at Daytona International Speedway and managed to hang around and avoid all the late-race crashes. By dodging a multi-car melee on the backstretch during the final lap, Johnson jumped to third when he crossed the finish line. It was Johnson’s first top-five finish since his final start in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that he made famous.
“This feels incredible, and I have emotions that I didn’t expect to have,” Johnson said. “I’ve never been in this position as an owner, and it’s really opened up a different set of emotions. And (with) the pride that I have in this result, and the pride that I have in this company, all that we’re trying to achieve and the journey we’re on, I am so satisfied and so happy right now.”
Johnson’s post-race comments reflect the transition he is still making from driver to owner. In 2023, he purchased an ownership stake in what was known as Petty GMS Motorsports. With Johnson joining the fold, the organization was renamed Legacy Motor Club. Not only did Johnson become one of the principal owners, but he also returned to the driver’s seat in the Cup Series for the first time since 2020. He ran three races, including the Daytona 500, but finished none of them.
For 2024, Legacy made the surprising decision to switch manufacturers to Toyota. The move made sense from a practical standpoint because it got Legacy out of the crowded Chevy camp and provided the team with an opportunity to develop closer ties with a different manufacturer. Yet Johnson and his associates chose not to seek a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, the Cup Series’ leading Toyota team. The two-car team, featuring Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek, would do it on their own.
Legacy’s 2024 season was brutal. Jones had the weakest year of his Cup Series career, scoring only two top 10s. To make matters worse, he was injured in a hard wreck at Talladega Superspeedway and had to sit out two races. Yet even Jones’ season was better than Nemechek’s. He and the No. 42 team were a respectable 15th in overall points through six races, but things quickly unraveled after that and only seemed to get worse as the year went on. By the time the season ended, Jones sunk to 28th in points. Nemechek tumbled to 34th, the lowest full-time driver in the final points standings.
Even Johnson himself could not do anything with Legacy’s cars. The seven-time champ increased his slate of races from three to nine but finished no better than 26th. Johnson is not at his peak as a driver anymore, and he does not have week-to-week experience in the Next Gen car, but it is very hard to believe that the poor performance of the Legacy cars did not impact his results as well.
As of this writing, Johnson has one additional Cup Series start planned for 2025, the Coca-Cola 600. It is certainly possible that he could run additional races, but the announcement of Johnson’s racing schedule last month specified that the Coca-Cola 600 would be his 700th Cup Series start. For that plan to hold true, it means that we will not see him in another Cup race until Memorial Day weekend. Additionally, another important piece of news from last month was the announcement that Johnson has become Legacy’s majority owner. While his future as a driver remains undetermined, he is clearly committing to the ownership role.
If Johnson is taking on a greater leadership responsibility for the team, what will that mean for him as a driver? He will be the man with the final say in the team’s business operations every day, which leaves less time for him to focus on the occasional moments when he is in the car. Meanwhile, the full-time drivers of the Cup Series will continue to gain experience in the Next Gen cars each week, putting Johnson at a further disadvantage. He is also going to turn 50 in September, an age where even the best drivers fight an inevitably losing battle against Father Time. Considering all those factors, the 2025 season may include Johnson’s final race as a NASCAR driver.
Johnson’s last race should be a big deal, no matter the circumstances of how or when it comes. He did get a fitting sendoff in his last start in the No. 48 car, but that should not prevent him from getting some recognition when he finally climbs out of the car for the last time.
Remember how Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s one-time mentor, had his own “last race” recognition at the end of the 2015 season, only to come back in a substitute role the next season for Dale Earnhardt Jr? When Gordon ran his actual last race at Martinsville Speedway in October 2016, it was at least acknowledged as a meaningful moment in the history of the sport. Johnson, of course, won that race on his way to his seventh championship.
Johnson’s investment in Legacy, and the pride he referenced feeling in his post-race comments, signify his commitment to racing and the competitive drive he still holds. It is unlikely that he will walk away from NASCAR anytime soon. Yet that last race as a driver is coming quickly, and there will come a day when many fans will long to see Johnson behind the wheel just one more time. Before that day arrives, fans should take a moment to appreciate that Johnson is still on track as his focus shifts toward new opportunities to leave a legacy.
Bryan began writing for Frontstretch in 2016. He has penned Up to Speed for the past eight years. A lifelong student of auto racing, Bryan is a published author and automotive historian. He is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Southern Kentucky.